The Ill-Mother Lives!
Thursday November 6th, 3:10 PM Wildomar, Elsinore High School :Lucas: He's already standing outside the front of the school, having managed to get out of class a few minutes early. It's exactly 3:10 p.m. and the bell rings loudly as he looks aroudn for the familiar black Pontiac Firebird that Detective John Murdoc drives. He leans back against the wall of the front of the school and yawns slightly, a boring, uneventful day so far. :Yuri: After the huge crowd of students walks through the frontgate towards the line of buses and parked cars, he can be seen walking with a familiar face. :Joel: He looks a little sad. You aren't friends anymore? :Yuri: He shakes his head :Joel: How will you get more grass? :Yuri: Don't know but...don't try to get any out of him if you see him. He thinks for a moment, Just stay away from Odie. He's bad news. :Joel: He sighs and nods, I know. Don't worry I won't talk to him. :They both go quiet as an adult walks past them from the office. :Joel: I gotta head home, Yuri. Stay safe my friend. :Yuri: He nods and pats his back, Yeah, you too. :Joel: He sees Lucas and gives him a wave goodbye as he leaves. :Lucas: He just nods at Joel, pushing himself off of the wall as his brother approaches. What'd you tell him about Odie? :Yuri: Told him to stay away from him. Who knows what he might do to our friends if he tried our family already. :Lucas: He nods. Probably a good idea- :Leena: She seems to pop up out of no where. You guys doin anything after school today? :Yuri: He nods, We're gonna go see that detective we told you about at lunch. :Leena: Oh, you meant today? I thought you saw him last night. :Lucas: We did. We're just doing a follow up. :Leena: Alright then. Tell me how it goes. She sees her ride and turns, walking away from the two of them very quickly. As she gets in the mini-van she waves lazily to the two of them and then closes the slding door before they can really respond. After a moment the van drives away, and suddenly the detective's Pontiac can be seen beyond where it was, across the street. :Yuri: He raises his backpack strap higher onto his shoulder while looking at the black car in the distance. Think we should tell him about our powers? :Lucas: He thinks for a moment, Let's just... Wait and see what he has to say. We still don't know him very well. :Yuri: Doesn't matter. We'll know where he lives soon. He quickly starts walking towards the detective's car. :Lucas: He walks with his brother across the street to the car. At least there will be an even playing field. As they get to the car the driver's side window rolls down. :Detective Murdoc: You'll have to ride in the back. He opens the door and steps out, pulling his seat forwards, as there's no back doors. As the two of them get in they can see "Baseball Guy" in the front passenger's seat. Both the twins recognize him as someone from another school around Elsinore, but they don't know him personally. That's Ezekial. He motions to "Baseball Guy" You three know each other? :Yuri: He looks at him for a second as he's getting in the back seat. I'd shake your hand but there's a demon inside me. He sits down on the right side behind baseball guy. I'm Yuri. :Lucas: Lucas. :Ezekiel: Zeek. I've seen you guys at a football game before or something, I think... Did you say demon? He looks at the Detective as he gets into the car. Did he say demon? :Detective Murdoc: He said demon. That's why I brought you. He shuts the door and starts the car up, pulling out into the street and driving. :Ezekiel: What? Can't you just be a normal person for one day? :Detective Murdoc: I'm just a normal guy in an abnormal world. He turns down the street, heading for the freeway. You three are the ones who make my job difficult. :Ezekiel: He just leans back against his chair. :Yuri: He looks at the detective, You said you might have some answers for us. Won't hurt to talk on the way there. :Detective Murdoc: Ezekiel, hand them that suitcase there by your feet. :Ezekiel: First you drag me through a den of vampires, then a massacred cult, then- He pulls the suitcase from where his feet are under the glovebox, with a bit of difficulty. -You make me go to that insane masquerade party with that guy, and now you have me handing a suitcase to demons. He pushes it through the divide between the front seats. I have baseball practice today. :Detective Murdoc: Not anymore. He looks up in the rear-view mirror. Open up that suitcase, there's some things in there that I'll explain as you look them over. :Yuri: He grabs the suitcase and places it on his lap before unlatching and opening it. For the record we're not demons. :Lucas: We're possessed. :Ezekiel: Well I feel safer. :Detective Murdoc: Shut it. He looks in the rear-view mirror. Don't mind my assistant, he's still getting used to this. :Inside the suit case there's a large pile of papers and pictures. At the top of the pile there's a black and white picture of some strange people in robes, wearing black masks. Both of the brothers immediately recognize them from that night. :Yuri: He raises the black and white photo slightly. These are the guys that put the demon inside Lucas. :Detective Murdoc: They're a secretive sect. Been around in Elsinore and the general riverside area for a long time. They're small but influential, made up of old money families that have been in this area since the early 1800's. Very dangerous, and even though they're so close to home, we don't know much about them. He clears his throat loudly. Was actually hoping it wasn't them that did this to you guys. :Lucas: So what does that mean? :Detective Murdoc: Means you guys are in deep. If these guys don't know who you are they'll know soon. We have to get them off of your trail. He pulls off of the freeway and onto a road that's about three miles from their school. He goes down the street a ways before pulling around a small two-story brick building. It looks like it was once an old market of some kind, but the front windows now say "Private Eye -Detective John Murdoc-" in stylized old-english font. The place looks nice, but it's obviously old and needs a few repairs. After a moment they all get out of the car and head into the building through a back door. The interior looks nicer, but a bit unkempt. The detective obviously lives in his office. He leads them to a living-room area where there's a couch, a wooden office desk, and other typical furniture you'd expect to see in a detective's office, like case files, books, etc. The whole place smells like the Detective's cigar smoke. :Ezekiel: He looks a bit sickened by the smell, but Lucas doesn't seem affected. Ezekiel also has his bat, a simple wooden Louisville Slugger bat, it looks old however, like something from the 50's. The whole of their surroundings seem to be right out of some old 40s-50s pulp detective story. You need a maid, and some air fresheners... :Yuri: He puts the suitcase down on the detective's desk and looks around the room before sitting down. I think I saw this in a movie once, except everything was in black and white. :Ezekiel: Murdoc likes to pretend he's from one of those old noire films, he just won't admit it. :Detective Murdoc: I don't pretend shit. He lights a cigar. Back to business. He sits behind his desk and pulls out a large book wrapped in tin foil. He looks up at Yuri and then Lucas. You two wouldn't happen to know the name of the demon inside you. That would make things considerably easier. :Lucas: Belxephon. '''The lights in the room flicker slightly, and he looks around the room. Ezekiel raises his bat, as if Lucas and Yuri are going to suddenly attack him. :Yuri: We just found out his name the other day, from our grandma. Wasn't easy getting to her. :Detective Murdoc: She's locked in that Riverside mental ward isn't she? He opens the foiled book and flips through the pages. Before they can respond he continues. That explains how she bound the demon so well. Know a demon's true name and you can get it to do almost anything for you. After a moment he opens to a page and stops flipping. Here's the creature. "Marquis Belxephon. Commander of 6 Legions of demons and dark spirits. Known as the Marquis of Promises. He blesses those that seek him out with both great power, and great calamity. He is aligned with the forces of anarchy, and has never been known to be bound to mortal command. It is said that the power he grants cannot be asked for directly, but must be gained through chaos and chance. Marquis Belxephon is said to have once been a commander of many more legions, but was tricked and lost his power to a beautiful woman. He is not a demon of evil, but he is a demon of lies and deception. He knows the virtues and vices of all great daemonic powers, and it is said that he can grant them to those who have his favor."'' :Yuri: '''He looks over at Lucas and smiles a bit before looking back at the detective, That explains a lot actually. :Lucas: He whispers to Yuri. You think grandma was the woman in the story? :Yuri: How old is that book, detective? :Detective Murdoc: Not sure, maybe about twenty years old. Definitely not older than I am. Was a Book of Shadow of a friend of mine, the witch gifted it to me when I got into this business. :Lucas: He smirks slightly. So does it say anything in not-spooky literature speak? :Detective Murdoc: The footnote here says: "Attempting to summon him brings the wrath of the Ill-Mother, who may actually be more dangerous than the demon :Yuri: The Ill-Mother? He sits up more in his chair, Who the fuck is that? :Detective Murdoc: He shrugs slightly, flipping through the pages for a moment. This damned thing has more pages than can actually fit in the book so I'm constantly finding new things. It's like it's being updated. '''After a moment he stops, reading for a moment.' Here we go. "La Madre, also known as the "Ill-Mother". A powerful witch queen from the south Americas. For decades she and her consort held an iron fist over the occultic culture of Brazil and surrounding nations. She was feared both by Angels and Demons for her terrible cruelty and great kindness to those that came to her. She later became known as the "Ill-Mother", after the death of her husband. During this them she controlled all rites and powers within the southern continent with her will, before suddenly vanishing without a trace. She is rumored to have traveled north to Mexico or America in order to raise her children far from her dark past, but none know for certain." :Yuri: What about the warning, the wrath of the Ill-Mother. What does she do if someone tries to summon Belxephon? :Detective Murdoc: No one knows much about her these days. He runs his finger down the edge of the page. A foreboding warning is written in scrawled ink. Even the detective looks at bit put-off by it. It simply reads ''"THE ILL-MOTHER LIVES"'' :Lucas: She might be our grandma. :Detective Murdoc: Wh-wait-what? He looks up from the book. :Lucas: The legend kinda matches what she told us. He looks at Yuri, Right? Grandma said she tried to summon Belxephon. The lights flicker again. But it didn't work out, then grandpa died, and she came here. :Yuri: He looks up for a second when the lights flicker again. I knew something was weird about her but I wasn't expecting her to have had some witch queen past life. He looks at Lucas. Do you think she was the one that got all those cultist killed? :Lucas: His eyes widen slightly. ...Maybe. :Detective Murdoc: He leans back in his chair. So you two are related to a legendary witch, locked up an a loonie-bin a few miles away. :Lucas: Just an... Educated guess. I guess. :Yuri: If she's supposed to be a legendary witch then why would she stay in a insane asylum? Doesn't seem right, she should be able to get out. :Detective Murdoc: Maybe she locked herself up to keep from hurting anyone else. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen something like that. :Yuri: We can't even go back and ask her. We pretty much broke in to talk to her last time. They're gonna up security after that happened. :Lucas: She said she wouldn't help us anymore anyway... I think she meant it. :Yuri: Let's get back to the real problem. He looks back at the detective. Which demon has control of Odie? :Detective Murdoc: Well. The cult that did this to you is known as the Cult of the Dark Paradise. He flips to a marked page. They're affiliated with a number of demons, but most notably worship a being known as Astreiya. They are trying to summon either Astreiya or her demon progeny. The goals of this cult or even what the Dark Paradise is, isn't written here and is pretty much unknown to anyone outside their circle. I suspect that your friend has become possessed by one of Astreiya's progeny. :Yuri: I don't think we can save our friend anymore, detective. You saw what happened to him...It just looks like Odie. :Detective Murdoc: That's really the problem. The number of times a demon is capable of fully materializing in our world... He waves his cigar about. ...I don't even know. Less than the number of fingers on my hand here. He holds up his other hand. There hasn't been a fully summoned demon since the time of... Jesus Christ himself. :Yuri: We just need to find him and you can shoot his head off with your holy shotgun. :Lucas: He gulps slightly. I... I'm honestly sure that that isn't Odie. :Detective Murdoc: He let's out a gruff sigh. Spawn of Astreiya are notoriously difficult to exorcise or vanquish. :Yuri: ...What happens to the demon when the body is destroyed? :Detective Murdoc: Depends on how far gone the host is. You two seem to be telling me that there's absolutely nothing left of your friend. :Yuri: How can there be anything left? :Detective Murdoc: I worked with a woman who was possessed for fourteen years. She's a bit jumpy but, you'd never know she was possessed. :Lucas: So you're telling us, that he can be saved? :Detective Murdoc: I'd have to see him for myself. :Yuri: Detective. He died. His body was split down the middle with a knife. Unless the demon grabbed his soul and dragged it back to his mangled body before he could go to heaven or hell...It's not Odie. :Detective Murdoc: That doesn't mean that he's gone. The demon will... Mutilate the host when it is summoned, but it still needs the body, and it will feed off of the soul in order to maintain that body for as long as possible. Sometimes the soul can last for years. Effectively... Your friend might exist inside of the demon, that exists inside of his body. :Lucas: This... Is confusing. :Detective Murdoc: He sighs. :Ezekiel: Welcome to my world. :Yuri: He looks around at the three of them. It's not that confusing. If the detective is right about this then we need to do everything in our power to get Odie back. :Detective Murdoc: Exactly. Then we decide what we'll need to do with him. If your friend is still in there, there's a slim chance that he can be saved. :Lucas: We need to get on this as soon as possible. :Yuri: We just need to figure out a way to banish the demon and a way to find Odie. :Detective Murdoc: I know who might know where your friend is. However... He looks to Ezekiel. Getting to him is difficult as he's very high class. Everyone in the room seems to look at Ezekiel. :Ezekiel: You're talking about Totenkopf... Again. Aren't you? I'm not going to another weird party, that was a terrible idea. How is a teenager supposed to blend in with a bunch of wealthy old people, exactly? :Detective Murdoc: I figured you'd be more capable. :Ezekiel: I go to school. I play baseball, mow lawns on the weekends for some cash. I'm not a wealthy party-goer that stays up late and drinks. :Detective Murdoc: He shakes his head. I'm too recognizable to get into a party like that to speak with "the Prince" :Yuri: What if we went and tried talking to him? :Ezekiel: Yeah, make them do it. :Lucas: He scratches the back of his head. Wait, what the hell is happening here? :Yuri: You're a master of disguise, bro. You dressed up as a security guard and somehow didn't get caught. :Detective Murdoc: You two definitely seem more resourceful that Ezekiel. :Lucas: You think we should show up to some party? What the hell kind of party? :Detective Murdoc: There is a large party held in a place called Slaughterhouse Canyon- :Ezekiel: Great name by the way. :Detective Murdoc: -every five days. The guests of this party are wealthy individuals that come from miles. High-class elite if you will. Actors, Governors, the rich and famous. The party is held by someone the two of you might know, Edward Totenkopf, also known as "The Prince of Riverside". He's on the Elsinore city council, and planned to run for California governor last year, but pulled out at the last minute for unknown reasons. Anyway, here's my point: The "Prince" is in the know about everything that happens in the world of the paranormal. If he's not involved in it, he knows about it or he's getting to the bottom of it. The detective gets up and pulls out a magazine, dropping it on the table. It's dated 1991 and says "Edward Totenkopf, Prince of Riverside, and California's most wealthy and mysterious bachelor." Edward looks incredibly young, with pale skin and black hair, having a feminine "pretty-boy" type of face, despite all of the accolades Murdoc gave him a moment ago, which made him sound like an old man. "The Prince" looks so young that he could pass for being only a few years older than Lucas and Yuri themselves. :Yuri: He grabs the magazine and look it over, So, we just find this guy and tell him about Odie and he'll help us? :Detective Murdoc: Possibly. He's dangerous and mysterious, but he's a known adversary of Astreiya and her Cult of the Dark Paradise. Right now I can't think of anyone else that could help. :Lucas: When is this party, and why would they let in a couple of teenagers? :Detective Murdoc: You're "Touched" by the strange, just like Ezekiel here is. You can get in without an invitation. You don't have to say a word to the guards around his house, you just need to... He looks at Ezekiel. Blend. In. :Yuri: I can get in easy with just my normal clothes. He looks at Lucas, You're gonna have to dress up. :Lucas: My clothes look more expensive than yours do. :Yuri: He gives him a smug look. :Lucas: He sighs, realizing what Yuri meant. When is this party? :Detective Murdoc: Friday night. It starts at 7:00 PM and lasts through the night. You two will need some kind of cover story for your parents as you won't be back until the early morning at least. :Yuri: He looks at Lucas. We could say we're spending the night at someone's house. :Lucas: Joel's? :Yuri: Joel's. :Lucas: He looks from his brother and back to the detective. We'll need directions. :Detective Murdoc: I'll give 'em to you when you leave. He seems content and puts his finished cigar into the ash tray. I could use a pair of guys like you in this line of work. Ezekiel's got the stuff to muscle through a situation, but he doesn't got the street smarts you kids have. :Ezekiel: I'm three feet from you. :Lucas: Umm... :Yuri: He cracks his knuckles. It's a shame we're not as strong as Zeek here. He lowers his hands and shakes his head. Damn shame. :Ezekiel: He looks to the side, annoyed. :Detective Murdoc: You two haven't gained any abilities from this Belxephon? Have you? :Yuri: He can't help but to smirk. :Lucas: We're not going to disclose anything like that. I don't know if we trust you guys enough yet. :Yuri: He raises his arms and shrugs. You'll just have to wait and see.